


A Friend in Need

by HazelDomain



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alpha Sam, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst, Angst and Porn, Beta Dean, Dubious Consent, First Time, Fuck Or Die, Guilt, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Multi, Omega Castiel, Pack Bonding, Pheromones, Protective Dean, Protective Sam Winchester, Sam and Dean are not together, Scenting, Sharing Body Heat, Threesome - M/M/M, first heat, nobody wants to do this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-16
Updated: 2017-01-16
Packaged: 2018-09-18 00:05:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9352472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HazelDomain/pseuds/HazelDomain
Summary: Omegas and betas usually don't mate, and when they do, it's rare that the omega can get through heats without an alpha.Castiel's been able to delay his heats, until now. He's insistent that he doesn't need an alpha, that he'll be fine with only Dean to help him.It's killing him, but Dean knows better.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Some rules for this ABO set:
> 
> \- heats are serious business and if they're not managed correctly, the omega is looking at permanent physical/mental damage up to and including death. 
> 
> \- 'managed correctly,' used here, means a serious influx of pheromones from either beta(s) or alpha(s) or both or basically anyone who isn't an omega. This means scenting, physical contact, (more is better) and of course, _all the semen._
> 
> \- occasionally an omega can get through with just one beta, but usually not. The likely success of this plan is usually evident within a few hours of the heat starting.

Sam was waiting when Dean finally made it to the library. There was a half-bottle of whiskey in front of him, but he hadn’t touched it in hours. None of them had eaten. 

Dean stood silently in the doorway, and Sam didn’t look up, didn’t meet his eyes. He didn’t need to see the dark circles under Dean’s eyes, the defeated slump of his shoulders. 

“Sam… I can’t…”

He didn’t need to finish. Sam already knew. He’d known for days. The entire bunker was filled with the scent of omega distress. Distress and heat. 

Sam swallowed. The alpha in him wanted to stalk down the hallway right now, to take care of the omega- his  _ family- _ that was putting off the scent.

Only his higher reasoning kept him seated. On that level he knew that this omega wasn’t just his packmate, it was  _ Cas. _  His brother’s mate. That’s what kept him still, his fingers resting on the neck of the bottle. 

“You’re sure?” he asked, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dean nodding. 

“It’s been two days and he… he’s just getting worse.” 

Sam spun the bottle gently, debating taking another draw.

Sighing, he abandoned the idea. If he was gonna have to do this, he was going to do it right, which meant he’d need to do it sober. 

He stood, leaving the bottle on the table, looking to Dean at last. 

“Alright. Let’s go.” 

 

~~~~

 

Sam reached the door first and hesitated, unsure as to whether he should knock. Dean answered his question by brushing past, pushing the door open without preamble. 

A wave of distress-scent hit Sam like a wave. It was Dean’s room, but the scent of beta was negligible, if not wholly absent. 

“No, Dean, I-” Sam heard Cas say, and then he was following his brother through the door. 

Cas sat on the bed, a blanket around his bare shoulders, a cold sweat standing on his body. Crossing the room, Dean sat beside him.    
The minute Sam stepped into the room he sat up straighter, his pupils visibly dilating as the scent of alpha pheromones reached him. For a moment, the distress was pierced with the scent of arousal, but Cas pulled himself back together, looking to Dean. 

“I’m sorry, I can’t, I don’t…” he trailed off, his eyes flicking back to Sam. 

“I don’t need to do this,” he said, louder, his voice a little steadier. 

“Yeah, you do,” Dean said quietly. He wouldn’t look at either of them, and Sam felt sick, looking at him. “I’m not enough to get you through this, Cas.” 

“You are, I can do it, I can push through.” 

“It’s not a matter of willpower,” Sam said gently, meeting Castiel’s eyes when the angel looked up at him. “It’s a biological requirement. When it comes to this… you’re only as strong as your vessel.”

“You need an alpha,” Dean muttered, staring down at his hands. Cas stiffened, fear lacing its way through the distress. It wasn’t a secret that Dean had always chafed at his little brother’s designation in the family. Cas leaned against him, his fingers lacing through Dean’s. 

“I don’t want more than you,” Cas whispered. Dean clenched his eyes shut. 

“I know, Cas.” 

The angel picked at the fabric of his sleep pants, saying nothing further.

“We don’t blame you, Cas,” Sam said gently. “Lots of families have this problem.”

Well, not  _ lots,  _ but Dean was far from the only beta to ever have an omega partner. They worked it out with alphas; family members or friends or even sex workers. Dean and Cas, obviously, had no such plans. Cas had pulled Dean out of hell- Dean fully believed he could pull Cas through a heat. 

“I’m sorry,” Cas whispered. He didn’t look at either of them. “I’m trying, I just  _ can’t _ -”

“Cas, it’s okay,” Sam insisted. He felt like he should reach down and take Cas’s other hand, but he held back. “We don’t blame you.” 

He glanced to Dean, looking for confirmation. Dean was glaring at the floor. 

“We don’t  _ blame _ you,” Sam repeated, looking pointedly at Dean. 

“No. It’s not  _ your _ fault,” Dean grumbled. 

“It’s not yours either,” Cas answered. “You don’t deserve this, neither of you…”

He stood, rising to his feet on shaky legs. The blanket slipped, but he pulled it tighter around his shoulders. He didn’t look back at Dean. 

“I won’t put this between you,” he announced, standing up straighter. “If I need an alpha, I’ll find… I’ll find…” 

His voice faltered at the same time as his footing, and he would have gone down if Sam hadn’t caught him. 

“Hey, you’re not going anywhere,” Sam promised him, but Cas wasn’t listening. His whole body had turned toward Sam, his fists clasped in the alpha’s shirt as the pheromones hit. His bare chest was flush with Sam’s shirt, his face buried against Sam’s collarbone, drawing at the scent there. Sam held him, strong arms around Cas’s back. Instantly, the omega’s scent changed to one of relief and safety. Sam breathed deep, some of the tension instantly evaporating from his shoulders. He didn’t look at Dean. 

Cas’s breath caught, and he pulled himself quickly away, stammering an apology. Distress filled the air once again, and Sam sighed. 

“This isn’t going to pass on it’s own, Cas. The longer you put it off, the more you risk hurting yourself.” 

Cas looked up at him, pain in his eyes. 

“I can’t ask this of you, Sam. Not when you don’t want me that way. I won’t coerce you into m- into…” 

He looked to Dean, his face pleading, looking for help. Dean scowled. 

“Take what he’s offering you. It’s better than I can give you.” 

Cas’s voice was breaking, and before Sam could stop him, he’d dropped to his knees in front of Dean, taking the beta’s hands in his. 

“Dean, I would give anything _-_ _anything_ in my power, not to have to do this.” He looked back to Sam. “To either of you.” 

Dean looked up at Sam. 

“Do you want me to stay?” 

“Okay, hold off a second,” Sam replied, looking at the two of them. “Cas… I’m sorry man, but from your scent, you think I’m about to feed you through a wood chipper. Not to be crass, but I’m not even sure I could get it up right now.” 

Cas opened his mouth, probably for another apology, but Sam held up his hand. 

“Can you come here?” 

Cas looked back to Dean. When the beta nodded Cas stood, returning to stand in front of Sam. 

Sam reached for him, taking him by the shoulders and drawing him close. Once again, their bodies pressed flush. Sam looked back to Dean. 

“You didn’t hire anybody,” he said quietly. “There are a thousand alpha brothels out there and I  _ know _ you know where they are.” 

“There’s more to it than a knot and a couple shots of pheromones,” Dean shot back. “If I couldn’t do it, I wasn’t gonna get him through the heat with some pump-n-dump hooker.” 

“I know,” Sam answered. His thumb rubbed gently against Cas’s blanket. “Just wish you’d said something earlier, is all.” 

Cas shivered against him, and Sam held him tighter. 

“Come on. Let’s get you warmed up.” 

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

The locker room was silent when Sam flicked the lights on. Cas and Dean followed, one of Cas’s arms over Dean’s shoulder for support. 

Sam pulled his shirt over his head, discarding it on the floor beside one of the wooden benches. Castiel’s eyes widened, taking in the broad expanse of scarred skin. His breath quickened and Sam caught the scent of apprehension. 

“Breathe slow,” he told the angel, turning back and letting a hand rest on Cas’s shoulder. “I’m not going to jump you. We’re just in here because some soap and hot water will do you good.”

“Sorry,” Cas answered immediately. “I don’t mean to be distrustful.” 

“It’s  _ fine, _ Cas,” Sam answered, shooting a look at Dean. “I’m guessing neither of you looked into alpha-assisted heats before this happened?” 

Dean glared at him, but Cas just shook his head. He’d trusted Dean to know about… well, about all this. 

Sam nodded. 

“The one piece of advice, that you get from  _ everyone _ , is to do a slow acclimation.”  He stepped a little closer to Castiel, and the omega shivered. “Which we are going to have to rush.” 

Cas looked to Dean, then dropped his blanket. He closed the distance between himself and Sam, laying his hands on the alpha’s chest. Sam didn’t reach for him this time, just held still and let Cas look. He could scent the tension dropping from Castiel… at the same time it was increasing from Dean. 

“Strip,” Sam told him, looking over Cas’s shoulders. Dean gaped. 

“What,  _ now? _ ” 

“Yes. You’re his mate, your scent is the calming and familiar one.” 

Dean blinked at him, then shrugged and dropped his pants. His shirt followed suit, landing in a crumpled heap. Sam raised an eyebrow. From the bruises and scratches and bite marks littering Dean’s body, the discarded clothes were the first he’d worn since Cas’s heat started. 

“Feelin’ a little underdressed here,” Dean snapped, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Go start the water, then,” Sam answered. As a beta, Dean’s scent wasn’t nearly as informative as Castiel’s or his own… but it was still clear that he felt nothing toward Castiel but protection and love, and the physical reminder was doing Cas a world of good. 

When Dean left, Cas leaned in, pressing himself flush against Sam’s body. He probably wasn’t aware that he was doing it. Sam let him, his own protective instincts unable to deny the omega anything he sought. His hands trailed down Cas’s back, catching in the waistline of his pajamas, pushing them down over the curve of his hip. 

Cas rose up on his toes, pushing it lower, scenting at the hollow of Sam’s throat. 

The pants fell to the floor just as Dean returned from the shower. He licked his lips, silently watching his mate’s naked body. 

“Bath time,” Sam said definitively, taking a half-step back and turning Cas around to face Dean. The angel looked startled to see him there, but he shook it off. He took a couple unsteady steps in Dean’s direction, before Dean caught his arm. 

Sam hastily pushed his pants down, following them into the steamy shower room. 

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

Sam and Dean tried not to look at each other as they worked. They’d seen each other naked before, of course; their skins were a patchwork pattern of the other brother’s stitching. 

Cas, though. Cas was new. 

With his usual personality intact, the angel probably would have stood between them, solid as a board, waxing rhetoric on the pointlessness of it all. 

_ This _ Cas, however, said nothing. He was torn between the two of them- his mate and his alpha. When one brother pulled at him, he went, pressing his body to theirs while the other brother scrubbed him down. 

When Dean knelt in front of him he began to harden, and Sam had to breathe through his mouth to keep the scent of arousal from provoking a reaction. Cas apologized, staring at the ceiling, but Dean just shrugged it off. The omega’s skin was cold to the touch- if he separated from Sam for more than a few minutes, he began to shiver again. Dean did what he could, but again and again Cas found himself tucked against Sam’s bare skin, craving the heat. 

He tried to hide it, keeping still instead of nuzzling against the alpha like he desperately wanted to. He wouldn’t do that to Sam. Or Dean. 

As the warm water and Sam’s pheremones worked their way into his skin, though, he found it harder and harder to conceal his arousal. His body wanted this, even if he didn’t.

Dean ran the washcloth up the inside of his thigh and he moaned, hips canting forward before he could stop them. When he caught himself and pulled back, he felt Sam’s answering reaction pressing against the small of his back. 

He whimpered, arousal flooding through him once again. 

Dean stilled, his head resting against Cas’s thigh. He didn’t need to look. He could hear it in Cas’s breathing, sense it in his scent. 

“Where do you want to be, Cas?” Sam murmured, and when Dean looked up, Sam’s lips were against the shell of Cas’s ear. 

Cas glanced down to Dean, and his scent became distressed again. 

“Don’t worry about me. I want whatever will make this easiest on you.” 

Cas nodded, closing his eyes. 

“Can we… go back to Sam’s room?” 

 

~~~

 

“There are some suggestions, on how to make this work,” Sam offered. 

Cas was still sitting on the edge of the bed, looking nervously down at the ground. 

“Do you want me to go?” Dean asked quietly, and Cas’s head shot up. 

“No!” he said immediately. He looked back to Sam. “No, I don’t… I’d rather…” 

“It’s fine, Cas. He can stay.” 

Sam glanced to Dean. 

“I’m assuming you’re cool?” 

Dean nodded, setting his jaw. 

“Whatever he needs.” 

Sam nodded and dropped his towel, climbing onto the bed, near the pillows. Cas turned to look. 

Sam sat with his back to the headboard, his legs crossed in front of him. He was still hard, and Cas’s eyes widened a little at the size of him. 

The scent of arousal filled the small room and Cas closed his eyes, humiliated. Sam pretended not to notice. 

“Then here’s my idea. Cas, you come sit here, back to my chest. You get the most skin contact that way. Then Dean can sit in front of you and make sure you’re… you know. Ready.”

Now it was beta arousal that tinged the air. Sam pushed on. 

“Through all of it I’ll be behind you. For the most part, what you’ll see, and smell, and feel, is Dean. And what you two do is up to you. Whatever makes you both comfortable.”

Cas nodded, still looking at the floor. 

“I can do that.” 

Sam looked to Dean. 

“That means I can’t see him. If I need to stop, if something’s wrong, you need to tell me. I’m not kidding.” 

Dean nodded. He didn’t need to be told any of this. 

Cas climbed up the bed, leaving his towel behind. He didn’t look at either of them, but as soon as he settled back against Sam’s chest, the tension in his scent lessened noticeably. Sam’s arms wrapped around his belly, holding him close. 

“You good like this?” 

“Yeah.” 

Dean tried not to stare. He’d been afraid of this, dreaded this scenario since the moment he’d taken Cas as his mate. He knew even then that this was a possibility, but now, here, watching it happen….

Cas’s face was relaxed for the first time in days. His cock was hardening between his legs, but the scent of his arousal was clean, missing the desperate, sour undertones it had taken on when his heat started.  

And Sam… 

Dean had thought Sam might resent him. Dean could have gotten someone else, and they all knew it. It was his fault-  _ alone-  _ that Sam had been forced into this. 

But there was no anger there now. No resentment. Sam scented along Cas’s temple with nothing but an alpha’s care for his pack’s omega. His hands were gentle on Cas’s body; his intention was to soothe, taking nothing for himself. 

Dean wasn’t surprised by that at all. 

He climbed onto the bed between Cas’s legs, tipping the omega’s chin up and kissing him gently. His other hand trailed along Cas’s thigh, toward the junction of his groin. Slick coated the skin there, and Cas broke the kiss, closing his eyes and turning away. 

“Don’t do that,” Dean said. He caught Cas’s chin and turned him back, kissing him again. “That’s good. That’s what we want.” 

“I don’t want more than you,” Cas insisted. “It isn’t that, Dean, I swear-” 

“I know,” Dean answered, and his hand travelled higher, slipping along the underside of Cas’s cock. “But you need it.” 

Dean slid a finger past Cas’s rim, loving the sound the omega made. This was familiar territory. Cas didn’t even really  _ need _ it; he was wet and ready and had been for days. Even Sam’s size wouldn’t be too much for him. 

Cas undulated, though he was clearly trying to hold still. The two of them were too much for him. 

“You ready?” Sam whispered, and all Cas could do in response was moan. His eyes were still closed, but he wasn’t hiding now; just overwhelmed. 

“Gotta get up on your knees, Cas,” Dean urged, and Cas blinked at him, before shakily complying. He knelt, straddling Sam’s thighs, his arms around Dean’s shoulders as Sam positioned them. 

“Please, alpha,” Cas whimpered, and Dean met Sam’s eyes over Cas’s shoulder. Sam nodded. 

“Whenever you’re ready, babe” Dean told him. Cas didn’t wait, dropping down onto Sam’s cock in a single slow thrust. His fingers dug into Dean’s shoulders, his breath coming ragged as his body adjusted. His hips moved, shallow, and Sam closed his eyes with a low moan. His hands ran up Cas’s back, trying to keep contact as much as possible. His knot was already forming, catching on Cas’s rim as he moved. 

“Dean… I want…” 

“Want me to touch you?” 

“ _ Yes. _ ” 

Cas’s face was buried in Dean’s shoulder, the beta taking most of his weight, and is was easy for Dean to trail his hands down Cas’s sides. Cas’s breath hitched, but Dean didn’t stop. His palm stroked up the underside of Cas’s erection, drawing a breath out of the omega. 

Dean canted his hips forward, letting his cock slide alongside Cas’s. He could hear the angel let out a gentle ‘ _ oh, _ ’ and he smiled. His hand wrapped around both of them, stroking slowly. 

“A satisfied omega in heat,” Dean murmured, scenting along Cas’s throat. “You’re incredible. Feel how much I love it?” 

Cas hummed his answer, a wordless assent as he continued working himself on Sam’s knot. It was getting harder now- as the base swelled, it became harder and harder for Cas to move. It soon became too much, and they were tied, though Cas still tried weakly to move. 

“Please, Sam…. Dean… I need…” 

“We’ve got you,” Sam answered. He pulled Cas back, flush against his chest so he could move, and within a few shallow thrusts he was coming inside the desperate omega. Cas cried out, his eyes flying wide as the alpha fluids painted his insides. Dean came at the same time as Cas, their joined come dripping over his fist, landing hot and sticky on Cas’s belly. 

Cas stared up at him, eyes wide, breath coming slow and shallow. His scent was utterly satiated, and it didn’t change when Dean dropped to all fours and began licking their mixed come off his stomach. Cas rested his hand on the back of Dean’s head, but before the beta could finish it had slid off; Cas was exhausted, utterly out for the count. 

“How long’s it been since he slept?” Sam asked. His arms cradled the unconscious omega, careful not to jostle him. Dean shook his head. 

“He’s drifted off, but I don’t think he’s really been  _ out _ since his heat started.” He looked up at his brother. “I’m sorry for all this, I thought I could get him through it.”

“You did,” Sam answered. He scented at Cas’s throat again, but there was no hint of distress or fear. “We’ll do this a couple more times, he’ll be fine.” 

“ _ You _ got him through it,” Dean grumbled. Sam gave an aborted shrug, careful not to jostle the sleeping angel. 

“You could have taken him to a brothel, left him with a stranger. Even if he’d gotten a knot at the beginning of his heat, I don’t think he’d be getting through it as well as he is now.” 

Sam looked up at his brother, his eyes earnest. 

“You made the right choice, Dean.” 

Dean rolled his eyes, looking away. 

“No chick flick moments, dude. You can just say ‘thanks for getting me laid, I fuckin’ needed it.’” 

Sam smiled. 

“Thanks for getting me laid, Dean.” 

The beta nodded, extricating himself from the tangle of legs. He cast around for the blanket, pulling it up over the three of them before collapsing on the mattress beside his brother. 

“He’ll probably be out about six hours and then want to do this again. I’m gonna get some sleep, in the meantime.” 

“Hmm,” Sam agreed. He’d probably be slipping off himself here, shortly. The scent coming off Cas was one of utter contentment, and it was hitting him like a sedative. 

In the meantime he held Cas close, letting his skin warm the sleeping omega. 

Dean curled on his side, one of his hands resting on the blanket above Cas’s thigh. 

“You got him?” 

Sam nodded. 

“Get some sleep. I got him.” 

 

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt: http://spnkink-meme.livejournal.com/114683.html?thread=42180859#t42180859 
> 
> BTW I'll be in Boston for the women's march this weekend, so if our new supreme leader decides to send riot police after his enemies, I might be AFK for a while.


End file.
